Then you move in to another debate - blowing water droplets around or having damp paper to dispose of.

Personally I prefer the damp paper as you can't turn off the taps with a wall mounted hand drier.

Problem is someone else has to touch the dispenser to fill it.

I'm pleased I did download it and referenced the date I downloaded it on my gap analysis document!

So at least I can prove what I looked at.

I have no problem with the guidance changing, but we do need to be able to see that it has been changed, and which bits have been changed, if we are to keep up with the changes.

I've signed up to the You Gov updates on Coronavirus and any changes you are then notified. Unfortunately you get notifications on all documents relating to COVID 19 and can be as much as 30 a day. Personally I'm not interested in how many flights are put on for UK citizans leaving the West Indies or Australia but thats the level of detail, thankfully the headings are in the e-mals so you can delete those not relevant.

Achrn

when they post an update they normally refernce or sign post the change, e.g. I recently received an update on the guidance for Working safely during coronaviris and the update stated below, hope this helps. Regards Leyton

Page summary Guidance to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic.

Change made Shops and branches – Updated to reflect industry feedback and to expand coverage of non essential retail categories ahead of planned opening.

Regarding the change to hand drying in the Govt guidance referred to above, it has long been hypothesised that warm air dryers are less hygienic than paper towels, especially in toilets where the air is taken from inside the toilet.

The evidence summary submitted to SAGE in April this year that I received in my inbox yesterday references this (paragraph 12, page 4):  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/887556/SAGE_paper_Apr_2020_Final-redacted.pdf

Might it be concluded that instead of the published scientific guidance on the efficacy of hand towel use, it is the environmental impact that engineered this change to official Govt guidance (‘guided by the science’)?

Just a thought...

2 clients have blown air driers rather than towels. But if you've just washed your hands with soap and watrer for 20 seconds, then they aren't going to blow germs/virus anywhere because it's not there to begin with. 

Both sets of driers are good at drying and a lot more efficient than towels in my mind. I suppose it come down to wether companys have spent sensible monies on hand dryers or gone for the cheapest. 

Hi Mark,

With my Food Safety head on now, disposable paper towels are the preferred method for hand drying. With hand dryers you have the risk of blowing water droplets around in the air. Unfortunately it comes down to people washing their hands properly in the first place.

Originally Posted by: Mark-W

2 clients have blown air driers rather than towels. But if you've just washed your hands with soap and watrer for 20 seconds, then they aren't going to blow germs/virus anywhere because it's not there to begin with. 

Both sets of driers are good at drying and a lot more efficient than towels in my mind. I suppose it come down to wether companys have spent sensible monies on hand dryers or gone for the cheapest. 

Originally Posted by: Mark-W

But if you've just washed your hands with soap and watrer for 20 seconds, then they aren't going to blow germs/virus anywhere because it's not there to begin with.

Most hand basins are located in the toilets. Plenty of videos showing the dispersals that occur when a toilet or urinal flushes and currently being animated to sell a bathroom freshener (some Motorway service stations - remember them? - were changing their seated facilities for ones that only flushed when the lid was closed).

Washed hands aren't the only item to enter the flow of air from a dryer - wrists/forearms/sleeves.....

I dislike hand driers for a number of reasons. The cheap ones are very low powered and (to quote my late mother) are as effective as having a cat coughing over your hands (it sounds almost poetic in Polish). Which means that people spend the day with wet hands. Chris Packham will be able to tell why this is not a good thing. The more expensive ones do dry your hands but often seem to accumulate a pool of water beneath them eg the blade type. I can’t imagine that anybody   cleans this up regularly. God what is might be growing in there. And  then there is the risk of stuff being blown around the area. The guidance about working (in labs for example) with the Covid virus clearly distinguishes between the virus just sitting there and the risk posed by it when formed into an aerosol.

FM people usually install these hand driers because it is less work for them as there are no paper towels for them to deal with. Not surprisingly  I have never seen  hand driers used in a CL3 lab.

Edited by user 28 May 2020 12:43:43(UTC)  | Reason: missing words

Found it!

‘Efficient washing and drying of hands is important in the transfer of micro-organisms. However, knowledge surrounding the potential for microbial contamination according to hand-drying methods is limited. This study assessed the potential for airborne microbe dispersal during hand drying by four methods (paper towel, roller towel, warm air drier and jet air drier) using three different models. The jet air drier dispersed liquid from users’ hands further and over a greater range (up to 1.5m) than the other drying methods (up to 0.75m), demonstrating the different potential risks for airborne microbe dissemination particularly if hand washing is suboptimal.’ - Best EL, Redway K, Comparison of different hand-drying methods; the potential for airborne microbe dispersal and contamination, Journal of Hospital Infection, 90 (2015)215-217